Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Sometimes I like to act all wifey and take in B's dry cleaning for him. This is usually after he nags me. A lot.

This was the case recently when B asked me to take his long formal coat in for a dry cleaning. Okay, maybe he asked me the last time he wore it. That would be in the winter. Yes, that season before spring. Ahem.

So I took it in. Eventually I got it out. The timing of all that is irrelevant to the story. You know what is relevant? B claimed I came back with a different coat.

I brought his coat home and hung it on our valet in our closet. It hung there for weeks. I asked B what he wanted me to do with the coat and he said to put it in the downstairs closet, which I did. Two days later, I am outside in the garage (hanging out, not working - let's be real), when B came out wondering what I did with his coat:

B: Where's my coat?

Me: In the front closet.

B: No, it's not.

Me: Yes it is. I put it there myself.

B: NO, IT'S NOT.

Me: Oh, right. Someone came, broke into our house, left no evidence, AND ONLY STOLE YOUR COAT. I forgot.

Then I stalked to the closet and pulled out his coat with a big triumphant swoosh while saying in my head "Voila!". B then insisted the coat was not his. We both looked at the coat, and I remarked "Um, what?"

Then B started saying a bunch of words all at once. I recall hearing "small claims court," "expensive," "Ralph Lauren," and "you better do something about this."

Too bad I was going out of town for a couple of days. I left B with the unpleasant task of accusing the dry cleaner of swapping his coat for a shorter, lighter and less expensive coat.

However, before that could happen, we revisited the issue. I had convinced B it might be a girl's coat. This struck me as funny. He decided to try it on. Guess what?

It fit.

And it looked like his coat.

And when I asked him to check inside for a size, guess what he found?

A Ralph Lauren patch on the inside man's pocket.

Guess who didn't go back to the dry cleaners after all?

*B would like to say that this blog don't write itself as if he intentionally created the above scenario.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Remember that last fall holiday weekend, Labor Day, when our trip to the cottage was almost deterred by B finding a dog, Gus to be exact? I was thinking about that this weekend, another long one, but minus the trip to the cottage. I realized I had not told you about B's latest find.

A couple of months ago, I got the call. You know the one. "I found a dog." This time it was early morning and I was at the office. I immediately started searching the ads for missing dogs matching the description B gave me without any luck.

The dog got the usual - grooming and a vet check.
B said the pup was roughed up. He looked like a pit bull and his ears were tore up, there were scars on his face, he was super skinny and there was some issue going on with his tail.
Then B said he thought of his friend's family whose dog had recently passed. He was going to have her bring her kids to meet the dog. Everyone at the vet raved about the pup and how sweet he was. I swear, only the sweet ones find B!

By the time I got off work, the dog now known as Dempsey was happily ensconced in his new home. I admittedly was a bit nervous about the unknown dog and how he would react to the environment. Seems he fit right in. His new home is full of people. There are people and kids coming and going left and right. All of them stopped to love him and tell him how gorgeous he was. I visited him and found out for myself just how beautiful, sweet and happy he was, despite all that he might have gone through.

The first few weeks were rough. Dempsey has powerful jaws and did not like his crate too much so he just helped himself out of it. They never did get one that could hold him. Luckily, the only thing he did outside of the crate was use the bathroom. Disgusting? Yes. Fixable? Definitely. At least he didn't chew things.

I am happy to say, it has been a few months now and B reports that Dempsey has gained much needed weight, is housebroken, does well on a leash and his tail seems to be doing better (he was chewing on it instead of the furniture I think). The family loves him and I am sure he shows them he loves them right back.
We will count that as another successful rescue by B. Way to go, B!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Remember when the other day, and I mean LITERALLY the other day, I wrote about how B sold our dining room set right after Christmas and after my casual remark about wanting a new one? Guess what we finally got? Yes, a "new" dining room. It is like B read my mind. Or my blog.

Do you want a sneak peek?

Of course you want a sneak peek!

That is our new china cabinet. How gorgeous is that? Not the best picture, but I promise when the whole set is in place, I will use a real camera instead of my iPhone. The carving is so beautiful and the wood so heavy. In addition to the china cabinet, there is a long buffet, a table with two leaves and six chairs including two captains chairs. Larger than the last set, I think it is going to look amazing in our dining room. I am even fond of how it goes with the color-that-was-picked-by-readers-and-then-changed.

Speaking of the house...there have been other new things added in the past months that you haven't seen. Keep your eyes peeled for future posts to catch you up.

As for this addition, the whole set should be here tomorrow. Then you will get the big reveal.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

When I said our pack had changed, I just didn't say how it had changed. Sadly, we have lost one.

Our beautiful and loving Chester is gone.

Our fat cat.

Our love buddy.

Our nap partner.

Our mentor and teacher for Brad.

Our alarm clock for feeding time.

Our lover and hunter of birds.

Our mediator between the cats

Our enforcer for the dogs.

Our roll-on-his-back-and-let-anyone-rub-his-belly boy.

We lost him too soon. We tried to hang on to him for a little bit longer, but his body couldn't handle it. So, one week ago today, our family of animals became four. It was a tough week full of difficult decisions. We were thankful for the extra time and miss him incredibly.

In memory of Chester, I offer you his bio which you can read here. You can also search "Chester" in the search box to the left and read the stories I have posted thorughout the years. He was quite the character.

Rest easy, buddy. We miss you.

EDIT: B informs me that no Chester post would be complete without the following picture:

He is right. That picture is what happened if we didn't listen to the alarm clock. No amount of magnets could keep his paw from opening that cupboard. We eventually got wise and just moved the food. That did not stop him from continuing to try.

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

I was tagged by Jennifer from ramblingsofasuburbranmom.com to tell you 25 things you do not know about me. However, since I have been gone for a while, I figured I would change it up and tell you 25 things that happened to me since January 1, 2012 a/k/a my last post. Shhh! I know.

Let's catch up. Shall we?

I went to Vegas for a conference for work. If you call drinking a giant Eiffel Tower drink and Bloody Mary's work, that is.

B rescued yet another dog. Even cuter than the last one. He also found it a home. More on that later.

My second nephew was born. His name is William. I like to call him Will.I.am. You can check him out here.

B put up shelves in my home office. They are awesome. More on that later.

We got my childhood home from my parents and are now landlords. That is a bit weird.

I revived my decades old carpal tunnel by playing a word game on my iPhone and iPad. If you haven't played W.E.L.D.E.R., download it now, but watch out for your wrists!

I got an iPad! It was a Birthaversary gift. Combined birthday and anniversary = love. iPad = carpal tunnel.

I spent too much time playing Words With Friends. Still do.

Our pack changed. More on that later.

I rewrote the entire plot and "twist" to the movie, The Cabin in the Woods, immediately after seeing it. Mine is much better. Sorry Joss Whedon.

Spent a 3 hour flight staring at the guy seated next to me wondering if he was going to puke on me. Also contemplated telling him to tilt his head back for his nosebleed. Neither happened. Worst.Flight.Ever.

Quit Twitter.

Became obsessed with Facebook.

Became obsessed with rescuing animals. Not literally because they have a tendency to run in the opposite direction from me and sometimes right into traffic. The opposite of rescue actually.

Lost my dining room furniture when I casually remarked I would like a new set. Be careful what you say around B. That set was sold within a week.

Figured out where to put all the stuff stored in our dining room set.

Had a milestone birthday. Won't tell you which one.

Attended the funeral of a girl I grew up with who had my same first name, was the same age, and was married just as long as me. Creeped me out, honestly.

Got a call from a medical supply company about medical supplies I no longer need for a medical condition I never had. We are going on year 6 or 7 now. Please.Make.It.Stop.

Learned that our "Beware of Dog" sign annoys our neighbor across the street. You know what annoys me? Lawsuits. Also? The neighbor across the street. Mrs. Busybody.

My brother did a drive by in his EMS rig complete with stopping and turning on the sirens in front of our house. We were not home. My other neighbor was. She made sure to check with B to see if we were okay.